Somethin’ to Munch On

by Jessica Ramirez

Social media has revolutionized the food industry. Entrepreneurs can use social media platforms to showcase their products to a broader audience, connect with customers more, showcase their work with others, and even hop from trend to trend. Back in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. economy hard. Being stuck at home, many found new ways to engage or make money through food blogging, food photography, and other online marketing. TikTok creators captures users attention with videos of 60 seconds or shorter, keeping their audience more engaged. The type of content you can find on these platforms varies from people recreating animated dishes, baking for fun, or even trying out food from different countries and cultures. When it comes to promoting your product, you should make sure your food looks visually appealing to attract viewers. Easy and quick recipes that require few recipes will pull people in, especially when they’re ingredients you can find at home. The mood, music, transitions, and backgrounds are all important in creating a great video.

As someone who’s on social media a lot, I enjoy food media the most because I’m a big food lover, and I love seeing different trends and cultures. It makes me actually want to try them because the food itself looks delicious; and since the videos are short, it gives the impression that recipes are easy and won’t take long to make. Gooey foods (like a cheese pull), drippy foods (like chocolate chips in a cookie or a birria taco in consommé), crunchy foods (like cutting a sandwich) and fresh, bright pops of color all draw me in! Another thing I enjoy seeing is when characters or animals that I like are recreated into food. Making food cute, or even putting faces on it, makes me smile and admire it. I’m also drawn into the videos because of how they are filmed, produced, and the way the end product is displayed.

Eventually, some people turn their content and passion into a successful business! Chloe Sexton, owner of BluffCakes, gained popularity on social media through her baking videos, especially the videos of her giant cookies (weighing seven ounces) which went viral. All the support she’s received has led to her opening up her own bakery! Another mom who’s made it big is Laura Fuentes, who created her own recipe and food blogging business inspired by a desire to pack school lunches (“MOMables”) for her daughter. Now other families can use her website as a resource to prepare healthy meals, and you can find tons of videos online of people making aesthetically pleasing bento-style boxes. These are examples of how you can use social media to thrive! Many of these content creators wouldn’t be where they are today without social media, and the support of the online communities they’ve created.